OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Probing the efficacy of virginity testing on the fight against HIV/AIDS:
The case of the Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Tsoaledi Daniel Thobejane a, Tsetselelani Decide Mdhluli b
a, b Institute For Gender and Youth Studies, University of Venda , Thohoyandou, South Africa.
Volume 08, Issue 07, Pg. 11-20, 2015.
Abstract: Virginity testing is defined as “a practice and process of inspecting the genitalia of unmarried girls and women to determine if they are sexually active. Virginity testing is a practice that is common in some sub-Saharan African countries including Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa. In Zimbabwe, virginity testing is performed in order to curb the further spread of HIV/AIDS. Proponents of virginity testing maintain that with its emphasis on total abstinence from sexual intercourse by girls, the practice is being revived to prevent HIV infection, to detect incest and abuse, and to re-instill and promote lost cultural values. Traditionalists view the revival of virginity testing as a signal of going back to basics and it enjoys a lot of support from those communities that practice it. In spite of concerted efforts to conduct virginity testing in all areas, some girls still fall pregnant, drop out of school and depend on their mothers to support their children. This paper therefore probes virginity testing among young girls in a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal to establish if it is a viable strategy to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. The study draws on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions conducted with girls aged 12 to 21 years.
Keywords: Virginity, Testing, Genitlia, HymenalExaminations, Ukuhlolwakwentombi, Ukuvavanywakobuntombi,HIV/AIDS infections.
Ukrainian Legislation on Biodiversity Protection in Latter Half of 20th Century:
Problematic Issues and European Experience
Rinata Kazak
Department of Legal and State History,
Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Volume 08, Issue 07, Pg. 21-26, 2015.
Abstract: The purpose of the research is to show the development of Ukrainian legislation on biodiversity protection with accordance to European tendencies and identify its stages in the latter half of the 20th century. The absence of an effective legal mechanism motivates to give the legal history review to define the problematic issues of this legal field. The paper defines two phases of Ukrainian legal base approximation to the European legislation on biodiversity protection and outlines their peculiarities. The article is separated in two main parts as- (a) historical stages of Ukrainian legislation development in accordance with European focus; (b) problematic issues of Ukrainian legislation on biodiversity conservation: level of detalization, textual form, spirit of law, public concern. This is the research of a top priority, as the community faced the tasks of protecting not only humanity but also the natural environment; within the biodiversity protection is one of the pressing challenges.
Keywords: biodiversity protection, Ukrainian legislation development
Sustainable Development: Gandhi approach
Indu Gupta
Paryavaran Shiksha Prasaar Samiti (Registered NGO)
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Volume 08, Issue 07, Pg. 27-33, 2015.
Abstract: Sustainable development means to “fulfil the present needs without compromising the needs of future generation.” Mahatma Gandhi’s way of living is the best example of sustainable development for world. In Mahatma Gandhi words, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not any man’s greed”.
The economic development is the most important marker of country’s growth. In order to achieve targets of development, developing and developed countries are irrationally exploiting their natural resources without concerns and understanding of how to exploit and when to exploit. Our lives are widely dependent on availability of the natural resources. If correct balanced is strike between usage of resources and availability of resources than lives of people and integrity of planet could be managed well. However when life is turned into excessive luxury and comfort this balance could break. The concept of the sustainable development is multi-dimensional and multi-modal. “Use and Throw” is not fit for the sustainable development while Reduce- Recycle – Reuse is the best concept of sustainable development as it refers to balancing of needs and usage.
Instead of economic development we should focus on environmental development. Before any type of development we should check for ecology and environmental impact, good building might not be good development every time. There should be environmental, social, moral and spiritual balance without all these values development is unperfected proxy for the progress.
A specific concern is that those who enjoy the fruits of economic development today may be making future generation worse off by excessively degrading the earth, resources and polluting the earth’s environment. This is fact that environmental damage hurts people today and future. Sustainable development adopted by the world commission of environment “Present generation should fulfill their needs without compromising the ability of future generation. In my opinion without damaging environment should done any type of development with social, moral and spiritual values. With full values the development will called Sustainable development. New social ethics should be inculcated amongst the children both in school and at home, emphasizing concern for environment, personal growth and peaceful coexistence. Economic growth should mean equitable and sustainable growth. Rate of population growth should be controlled through education and awareness. Resources must be conserved through judicious use and recycled.
Keywords: Moral values; Protectionism; Reduce, Recycle, Reuse; Spiritual values; Social values
Constraints and Possibilities in Creating a Sustainable Inclusive Society in Africa: A Philosophical Re-imaging
of Coetzee’s Disgrace
Mary Stella Chika Okolo
Department of Communication and General Studies,
Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Volume 08, Issue 07, Pg. 34-46, 2015.
Abstract: The question of an inclusive society is at the core of any meaningful imagining of a future for Africa that will recognize, accommodate and harmonize differences. To say this is to focus on how a ‘society for all’ can be created and sustained. This will require a social space that upholds and defends multiplicity of values rendered on the principle of equality and equity. Investigations, however, reveal that the notions of equality and equity are not treated as sacrosanct in most African societies. What societal arrangements favor the incorporation of all categories of interest in the society? To what extent does incorporation translate to active participation in societal affairs? In a knowledge economy, for instance, how do inheritors of Bantu education enter into a truly inclusive arrangement? What does the right to vote effectively translate to when the meaning of the right is mostly excluded through rigging as is the case in most modern African states? How and why does exclusion occur? How does ‘society for all’ become a lived concept for members living at the fringe of society like the poor, the homosexuals and other marginalized groups? How inclusive is the law that stipulates the standard for society? For example, how is the concept of equality between male and female engaged under Sharia law? To what extent does the ‘handicap’ to access the facilities of an inclusive society impede societal progress and fuel social and political insecurity? Is achieving a ‘total’ inclusive society a utopian goal? Is it possible to create an inclusive society where some members prefer exclusion? When, how and why should exclusion be preferred to inclusion?
To answer these questions will require disciplines working together to create a knowledge fusion cell. Philosophy with its insistence on analysis of concepts and critical evaluation of ideas and literature, here represented by Disgrace, with its focus on the individual, the society and how the private and public interact on daily basis provide excellent investigative tools in any attempt to interrogate and understand the multidimensionality of an inclusive society. Also as theoretical disciplines that operate outside stipulated laws and formulae, philosophy and literature can evaluate the past, examine the present and envision the future. As such, they can offer a comprehensive worldview on the constraints hindering the creation of an inclusive society and the possibilities that will enable its emergence and why we need to sustain it.
By situating the constraints and possibilities within a dialectical relationship, the paper teases out both the explicit and implicit elements of the two and their overlaps. The outcome will help in building a framework to support Africa to reinvent its future, redefine its priority direction and renegotiate its place in international relations and in the context of current global transformations.
Keywords: Inclusive society, Africa, Philosophy, Literature.
Urban landscape impact on the social behavior of citizens
(Case study of Julfa and Zainabieyeh districts of Isfahan)
Fereshte Ahmadi a, Omid Khajeh b
a Department of Urban Planning , Faculty of Art and Architecture and Urban planning,
Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran.
b Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
Volume 08, Issue 07, Pg. 47-59, 2015.
Abstract: One of the important issues of urban studies is Urban Landscape impact on mental, perceptual, and behavioral aspects of citizens. Urban Landscape, as a result of the interaction of the factor formation of city and urban community, reflects the characteristics such as the development of civil society and citizens, and their social maturity, the values and norms, economic conditions, tastes and aesthetic criteria and more. One of the most important discussions in the in the theory of Environment and Landscapes, is the role of landscapes in forming human behaviors .Human behavior is under the influence of ecological powers all over the world. When one pays attention to carefully designed landscapes, and when people cooperate with us, it is possible to create active, various and fresh landscapes based on the citizens’ needs and motivations. If the sense of belonging disappears in human being, he becomes indifferent to any possible damages to environment, the opposite is also possible: keeping and caring the environment will increase both the residents’ willingness towards their living environment and also the sense of belonging.
In this paper, in order to understand the urban landscape impact of mental image of citizens and to study their behavioral characteristics, we selected Julfa & Zainabiayeh districts of Isfahan, and had distributed a number of questionnaires among the inhabitants. 100 citizens were randomly selected from the population of Julfa and Zeinabiyeh districts. Their age-range was between ” 20-60 “. They were required to respond a 11- item questionnaire on their attitudes towards Urban Landscape in the region. Comparative studies have been conducted on the collected data and finally some strategies have been provided to enable and organize these two districts .The results of comparative analysis from these districts show that both districts of Zeinabiyeh and Julfh have the potentiality to absorb social capital. Julfa has performed this process well and has been a successful economic capital. Julfa reminds of order, a sense of peacefulness, dynamism, wealth, readability, modernity and a representative of minority of Armenians. On the other hand, Zeinabiyeh, is losing its native residents. Zeinabiyeh’s residents’ sense of belonging is decreasing due to its texture weariness and its inappropriate skeleton. This district reminds us of an old texture, crowdedness, disorder, disregarding collective memories, ruined areas, poor people and lower social class. The main reason why people are highly interested to live in Julfa can be summarized in Julfa’s readability, i.e. the mental image that people have from Julfa’s location, its uses, its valuable and historical buildings. However, municipal strategies and plans play an important role in this success.
Keywords: Urban Landscapes, Social Behavior, Social Maturity, Values and Norms
Causal attributions for poverty in Italy: What do people think about impoverishment
Maurizio Norcia a, Antonella Rissotto b
a, b Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
via San Martino della battaglia, 44 – 00185 – Roma. Italy.
Volume 08, Issue 07, Pg. 60-72, 2015.
Abstract: What do people think about becoming poor? Should the poor be blamed? Are community or society mainly responsible for their condition? Or Bad Luck? This paper analyses the causal attributions for Poverty in Italy, in order to better understand people’s viewpoint. According to literature, we can detect three main attributions, depending on explaining poverty as ascribable to individual, external-tangible or fatalistic factors. The data analyzed come from a study conducted in 2012, in Italy, which involved around 1000 participants. A Principal Component Analysis has allowed to ‘weed-out’ the items by identifying three main components. Following analyses have showed significant relations between attributions and factors like sex, age, education level and economic condition.
Keywords: causal attributions for poverty, Locus of Control, poverty, social perception